DC Aviation Al Futtaim declared its second hangar open on Sunday, as its DWC early adopter status continued to set the tone for the rest of the field in the provision of business and general aviation services at the airport.

DCAF managing director Holger Ostheimer was joined by Omar Al Futtaim, vice chairman of the Al Futtaim Group, Michael Kuhn, CEO of Germany’s DC Aviation, and representatives of Aton, DC Aviations’s owner, for a glamorous opening ceremony.

“This fantastic second hangar is a true symbol of the [cooperation between] Al Futtaim Group of the United Arab Emirates and DC Aviation of Germany,” Kuhn told an audience of local and international dignitaries. “Please accept this facility as our personal contact with you,” Ostheimer added.

The 7,500-sq-m hangar will double capacity, bringing total land-side plot area to 24,000 sq m and apron area to 13,000 sq m. It will allow DCAF (Stand 1522) to add two single-aisle aircraft maintenance bays and provide enough space for an additional workshop and equipment storage. It will also significantly increase the size and number of aircraft that can be accommodated at the facility. The new hangar will also see DCAF further expand its MRO capabilities.

Speaking to AIN before the event, Ostheimer said the new facility would offer several new options in terms of space, as Hangar 1 now operates at full capacity. “The biggest aircraft it could accommodate would be a 767-300, even though there are very few out there in the market.  It provides for a convenient mix of about 14 aircraft—737s, BBJs and ACJs, as well as the G650, Falcon 7X and Globals—or 10 larger aircraft.

“We have a demand in pretty much everything, which reconfirms our initial plans in what was originally called Dubai World Central. Four years later, we celebrate the opening of our hangar expansion, which will give us more hangar parking, which is in dire demand, and more maintenance capacity,” he said.

The additional hangar space will also provide the foundation to further enhance the strategic cooperation between DC Aviation and Lufthansa Technik, enabling the company to extend its reach within the region and serve as first port of call for VIP carriers from the GCC.

“That is our plan for the second half of the hangar, allowing for three BBJ or ACJ events at a time," he said. "This will provide the first half of the hangar with additional ad hoc parking and maintenance capacity. We are adding workshops and interior shops that can be used at a time in the future.

“The second hangar will be operational shortly after the issuing of all operational licenses. We are already in the process of securing long-term parking clients. We still have 5,700 sq m of space in the old hangar. That continues to provide MRO capabilities. It’s the backbone for our long-term hangar requirement.”

DCAF claims to have been among the most active of a total of five ground handlers and FBO and MRO operators at DWC of late. “On the maintenance side, we have been the most active maintenance provider and are adding more complexity over time," he said.

The migration from Dubai International to DWC continues. “I think it’s a matter of time until all business and private aviation activity relocates from DXB to DWC," Ostheimer said. "I would estimate the share in [movements] activity being 60 percent at DWC, and 40 percent at DXB at the present time. This is clearly going to change in favour of DWC. That confirms the choice of DWC as being Dubai’s future private and business aviation hub."

“We started in DWC from zero. We have recorded continuous growth in ground-handling activity with the associated side effects on secondary levels of business, including hangarisation, maintenance and of course the strategic backbone of our business, represented by aircraft management, where we have accounted for six aircraft joining the fleet in the last two-and-a-half years, and we are in the process of adding more by the turn of the year.”

Ostheimer is optimistic the venture with Al Futtaim will continue to pay off. “Dubai will continue to be attractive for people to reside and earn their bread and butter. I cannot see that changing. We continue to expect growth in the next few years. I don’t think it will be exponential, but it will be sound growth.”